The Mariners' star talent also featured prominently in several Nintendo-published baseball titles

One of the many stories surrounding the remembrance of former Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi is how he’s considered the saviour of the Seattle Mariners baseball team, taking a majority share of the organization in 1992 when its previous owner was about to sell it to a Florida group. Yamauchi’s influence on the team is so well regarded that the Mariners will be announcing a tribute to him at a home game.

Although Yamauchi transferred his share in the Mariners to Nintendo of America in 2004, questions have still been raised over whether his passing will change Nintendo’s interest in the team. But Howard Lincoln, CEO of the Mariners and a member of NoA’s board of directors, has told the Puget Sound Business Journal that the company intends to remain majority owner:

There’s always speculation in times like this. I think I can speak on behalf of Nintendo of America and say that Nintendo has no plans to sell its majority interest in the Mariners.

LIncoln also said he had been in touch with Tatsumi Kimishima, Nintendo’s managing director, who confirmed there are currently no plans to break Nintendo’s commitment to the team:

I can't tell you what’s going to happen in the future, but now Nintendo feels very strongly that Nintendo wants to maintain its ownership interest in the Mariners.

Yamauchi’s investment in the Mariners made a lot of fans happy and helped forge a regional bond with the Pacific Northwest. It arguably may not be the most important expenditure he ever made, but its impact is undeniable.

What do you think of Nintendo’s decision to hold on to the Mariners for the foreseeable future? Let us know below.

As a child, Tim once spent an entire month staring longingly at a copy of Kirby's Dream Land his parents had kept atop the refrigerator until he could play it on an upcoming road trip. That month would change his life forever. TLatshaw